The World Food Summit in Rome ended last week with a whimper. It was even worse than cynics had predicted.
No concrete, collective commitment was made to address global hunger. Only vague promises were uttered to cut starvation in half, the same number cited a decade ago. Despite a 24-hour hunger strike, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf, never really emerged as a true leader. And no one seemed appropriately outraged that millions of people are starving.
This kind of poor showing desensitizes the public to the massive hunger problem facing the world. Global representatives debating starvation from the comfort of their lavish Italian quarters makes people question their wisdom and commitment. Photo ops of officials patting themselves on the back for showing up just don’t cut it. And the inability to make progress even under the best meeting conditions adds to the feeling of hopelessness. If our elected and appointed representatives jet off to Rome and fail to raise the bar even one iota, how are we as individuals supposed to make a difference?
To me, the answer lies not in turning to governments, but in turning to farmers.
The World Food Summit’s malaise seems to reflect G20 governments’ general unwillingness to send new money abroad for food aid. If that’s the case, then they’d better ante up domestically, and increase their investment in agricultural research and development programs that address worldwide problems, social and agronomic. This approach won’t be universally accepted, because it will be seen as selfish and controlled by big business interests. But it has one major selling point: It involves farmers.
Through all the turmoil that’s beset agriculture, farmers haven’t lost focus on their main tasks at hand -- raising livestock and growing crops to feed people, in an environmentally friendly and cost effective way. Although farming has its share of woes, particularly in the pork and beef sectors, it’s clear that no matter how you look at the future, you’ll see agriculture in full flight. Addressing problems related to world hunger, health, the environment and the economy hinges at least in part on agriculture. And what’s bigger than that?
Young people are getting the message. Agriculture’s appeal is widening. Environmental program uptake is on the rise, and food and agricultural science students mostly have their pick of jobs. In the U.S., enrollment in bachelor's degree programs in agriculture across the country has grown by almost 22 percent in three years. The days of farm kids not wanting to return to their roots is waning, while city kids are getting turned on by the likes of agricultural and agri-food science, marketing, community development, communications and resource management.
Banks are not losing faith in farmers. Certainly, there are some cases of bankruptcy and foreclosure. But in Canada, in its recently released annual agriculture outlook report, TD Economics says that despite current problems, longer-term prospects remain bright. The bank believes demand for agricultural products will grow alongside the ethanol and bio¬fuels industry and emerging markets. As well, it says, even during the worst of the largest global recession in half a century, agricultural prices mostly stayed buoyant, “given the fact that people still needed to eat.”
And that’s exactly the point. People everywhere have to eat, and farmers need the technology to feed them. International efforts to help develop community gardens and smallholder plots in underdeveloped countries are important, and will help address the giant problem of hunger. We need to talk to those countries and understand their needs. But we also need to let them know we have some answers.
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